The Perfect Soufflé

An homage to Jacqueline Margulis and Café Jacqueline

The perfect, and I mean the *perfect* Lemon Soufflé belongs to one artist.

Jacqueline Margulis, chez Cafe Jacqueline.

You wait for an hour, you leave 3 hours later. You barely get in. It’s North Beach; the time flies by. You are thrilled out of your mind. The champagne will be poured. All the diners, the dozen of us seated in her tiny room, are in love.

My first bite of the Lemon Soufflé. As you can see, I lost my head and all the camera focus.

The first time I came alone, and the wait staff were my romancers. I watched the other diners in seventh heaven. It was cinema, the expression on their face, at first bite.

Because I was alone, everyone kept insisting I try “theirs.”

Chef Jacqueline is 87 years old and she makes each soufflé, for each patron, all night long in her tiny little kitchen. No one helps her.

You try calling the café between 5-6 to make a reservation: (415) 981-5565. Do leave a lovely message on the honest-to-goodness answering machine. Someone in this small family …